Same World Different Day
by Vulcan Halps
Summary: Kate returns a full agent. Her new cover is both professional and personal. Kate/Richard
1. Shadows of the Past

He stared at her door for a moment longer than he was comfortable with before knocking. Taking a deep breath, Richard tried not to think about all the times he'd been here before. It had been months since he'd seen her. But he was used to people disappearing from his life. At least in this case he knew where she'd gone.

Kate answered the door with a smile. He'd wondered if the Farm would change her. Not worried, worried was too strong, but he did wonder. Yet here she stood before him, innocent blue eye staring up at him. That innocence, how did she still have that through everything she had seen? He let himself smile down at her.

He heard the nosy neighbor down the hall open her door and he knew she'd been poking her head out. He leaned into the door frame to block Kate from view and tilted his head so that from the neighbor's view it looked as if he was saying good night to Kate. For her part, Kate raised an eyebrow her smile shifting slightly. Not for the first time Richard wondered if they had explained the new parameters of their arrangement before she left. But off her expression he assumed it was left up to him to clarify.

"Do I invite you in?" she asked with a quick, coy smile.

He returned the smile. "Or we could discuss old times out here?" He glanced around him for emphasis.

She laughed and held the door open further. He accepted her silent invitation, shedding his coat and hat as he entered. Ever the Pan Am stewardess, Kate took his outwear before he had the chance to protest. "How have you been?" she asked with that ever present smile as she stowed his belongings.

He smirked, small talk. She was distracting him. Why? He evaluated her closely. She played with her hair then suddenly stopped as if reconsidering. He chuckled softly to himself; she was nervous. "Did they debrief you?" he asked quietly cutting through her distraction.

"They said you would set up a meeting. That you would explain." She smiled hesitatingly but it fell after a moment. "So what happens now?" She looked him in the eye.

"The Agency has seen to it that you will be reinstated to Pan Am." He suppressed a smile at her surprise. "As an agent, you'll take an active role in both the planning and executing of your missions." He gestured to her couch and she nodded.

Disappearing into the kitchen she reappeared with two tea cups. Setting one down on the table, she took a drink of the other before passing the cup to him. He hid his smile behind the cup as he took a drink. "How will I manage to plan and execute missions, and also work…" she trailed off as she looked at him. "How will this work?"

"When there is a mission, I'll set up a meeting with you. We'll go over it together."

She smiled and sipped her tea. "So you're not going to be ordering me around anymore?" She tilted her head as she took in his profile. He knew she was reading him. She had been trained now.

"I'll have final say, but you'll have operational input." He shifted to face her. "But we're going to have to talk about your cover." He leaned forward slightly. "About our cover."

Kate's gaze snapped to his. "I thought working at Pan Am was my cover."

"That's part of it." He held her gaze. "But in order for us to meet. For me to come here and plan missions you'll have a personal cover as well." Kate turned from him slightly and took another sip. He watched as she calmed her features and turned back to him.

"I'm guessing this cover isn't that you are my brother." She tilted her head and looked off into the distance. "So what's our story then?"

"It'll be your story to tell." He was impressed. When she started she had the question every step of the way. He suppressed a smile. She was finally understanding how his world… their world worked.

She nodded. "Is there a story for where I've been the last six months?"

"No, that decision is yours." He watched her carefully.

Pushing her cup away, Kate folded her hands. "We met at a café. You needed directions. We spent the day sightseeing."

"Certainly hope you make it sound more exciting when you tell your sister." He glanced at her in time to catch the smile that flitted across her features. "Good plan. Keep as close to the truth as possible."

"It makes it easier. I know." Her expression narrowed for a moment and he remembered all the times she disagreed with him. "So what's the first mission?"

Richard pulled a file from his briefcase. "We'll start with something simple." He handed the file to her. She took the file, but she didn't look at it. Instead she stared at him. "It's not an insult," he added.

She shook her head. "No," she looked up at him. Narrowing her eyes, she searched his face. "I have a question first. Are you still lonely?"

Richard frowned. She was never what he expected. "It comes and goes."

"I need you to work on that." She picked up the file and opened it before adding quietly, "Loneliness won't work with our cover." As she perused the file, Richard smiled in agreement. No one dating Kate could be lonely. He banished the wayward thought. Those thoughts had to be kept at bay, if this was to be their cover. And the powers that be said it was.

"Anka?" Kate turned to him. "You're sending Anka back."

"Not back," Richard corrected her. "We're sending her to Switzerland. The Swiss are neutral. She'll just be an informant. Safest assignment she can have."

"I was just a courier," Kate snapped looking over at him sharply. "And then what?"

"Kate," Richard spoke her name quietly. "She speaks German. There are communists in Germany. We are fighting against the communists." She started to look away, but Richard reached for her hand and she looked back to him. "Some in the Agency wanted to send her back to Germany. But others argued that she might be recognized." He sighed; it was his turn to look away. "She can be just as useful in Switzerland, but without the risk."

Kate was still watching him when he turned back to her. "So I deliver her? Is that it?"

"You'll inform her of her cover. Her new passport and information is in the file. You can walk her through her new responsibilities, help her find her way to her post. Without being seen."

Nodding Kate set the file down. He made to get up. "Richard," she called to him. He turned to her. She continued, "You were the one who wanted Anke in Switzerland." Not a question.

After a moments pause, Richard nodded. "Germany would be a greater risk without a greater chance of reward."

She watched him for a long moment. "Thank you."

"I didn—" Richard started, but Kate shook her head cutting him off. "Make sure you get her settled in."

She walked him to the door, but didn't say anything. He glanced back at her once before heading out. He put his hat on as he headed down the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the nosy neighbor peaking out her door at him.


	2. Safe in the Knowledge

Kate pulled the rolls from the oven just as she heard the knock. Richard usually had terrible timing in her opinion, so this was a first. She set the plate down and brushed her hands down her skirt. When she answered the door, Richard handed her a rose. Kate reminded herself it was part of their cover. Still it was nice.

She smiled at the flower as Richard shed his hat and coat. "Dinner?" Richard asked looking at her dumbly for a moment. Kate was tempted to laugh; she'd never seen Richard look so confused. Even his surprise at seeing her at the hospital couldn't compare with his confusion.

"Cover," she responded. She took his hat and coat as his expression returned to neutral. "Thank you," she told him as she put the rose in a vase and set the rolls on the table. Richard was still standing near the door. "Come. Sit," she commanded.

Richard sat obediently. "How is Anka?"

"Settled. She asked about her family." Kate kept her gaze on Richard. His eyes locked with hers as she spoke.

"What did you tell her?"

Kate motioned for Richard to eat. "The truth. Her family is safer without her right now. Someday she might see them again."

Nodding Richard took a bite as she spoke. "It'll be safer for her as well. Does she know what to listen out for?"

"I went over the details with her. She knows how to contact Agent Willis if she hears anything." Kate fell silent and slowly ate a few bites. She watched Richard for a moment as she chewed quietly. "I assume you're not just here to talk about Anka."

Richard smiled slightly before quickly suppressing it. His eyes locked on hers. "You're headed to Rome next week." Kate nodded, she was told to switch flights with another stewardess for the Rome flight in place of Berlin. Richard passed her a file, identical to the file he'd brought last time. "The Agency would like you to set up safe houses in Rome. At least five, if possible. Agents were burned there two weeks ago. They would like you to set up some new locations. Everything is in the file."

Taking the file Kate took a deep breath before opening it. She'd never set up safe houses before. She'd never even been in a safe house. "A safe house can mean the difference between life and death to an agent or an asset," Richard told her. He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. She hadn't realized her hand was shaking until the warmth from his hand crept into hers, stopping her movement.

"I know," she replied. "I can do this."

Richard smiled reassuringly. His gazed shifted between her eyes. Kate always wondered what he was thinking when he looked at her so seriously. "Once you're in Rome there won't be anyone available to help you, so call before you leave if you have any questions."

She nodded trying not to be affected by his lack of encouragement and pushed her potatoes around her plate with her fork. "No one questioned my absence." Richard watched her between bites, showing no reaction to her change in topic. She smiled in spite of herself as she watched him eat. "I thought I'd wait until I got back from Rome to tell the girls about us." She glanced away as she told him.

Us, it seemed such a simple word. Not a word Kate considered for herself often, but this was pretending. A fake relationship. Cover. Like the safe houses, their cover could at some point be the difference between life and death. "Do you have any family?" Kate asked him.

Richard glanced at her for a beat. She held her breath wondering if she was prying. "My parents," he told her with a slight nod. He wiped his hands on his napkin and devoted his attention to her.

Kate was used to have a man focus on her. But she'd never seen Richard so open. His normally observant visage was almost relaxed. "What's your professional cover?"

He took a moment to suppress his smile. "I'm a business man, working for an export company."

"Isn't that a little obvious?" Kate smiled across the table at him.

Richard's lips twitched in a shadow of a smile. "Perhaps, but it's common enough and allows me the freedom to travel."

"You travel?" Kate asked without thinking. She'd met him Rome, but he never spoke of traveling. Richard smiled and Kate felt silly. "Of course, you travel." She slid to gaze to catch his. "But you've never flown Pan Am."

His smile disappeared. Richard tilted his head away from her, almost physically ducking the question. "Not on any of your flights."

Part of her was bothered that he would intentionally avoid her, but she knew it was for the best. She could easily break his cover. "Is Richard Parks your real name?"

He turned back to her with a curious expression before nodding. "And if I fly on any of your flight, I'll be sure it's under the same name." He touched her arm and she focused her attention on his hand. "Anything else you need, just ask."

Kate nodded though she didn't look at him. She was nervous, but didn't want to share that. She would prove that she could do this. "I'm used to hearing Laura talk about her relationships. Talking about myself is a little different." She hoped he would think her awkwardness was about them and not her upcoming mission.

"I meant what I said." He pulled back his hand and her gaze with it. "Whatever you need, I'm here."

She shifted her gaze over his face. Richard was hard to read when he wanted to be, but she couldn't detect any dishonesty. Realizing she was staring, Kate lowered her gaze. "I'll call you if I need you."

Richard nodded. "Thank you for dinner," he told her as he collected his coat and settled his hat on his head. "I set up a meeting," he paused until she looked at him. "After Rome. We'll go over it together." It was the first time he'd told her what the plan was.

But Kate still felt like he wasn't certain in her abilities. She wanted to ask him for his help and yet she wanted to prove that she could do this on her own.

She didn't stop him from opening the door and then he was gone.

xxxxx

Thanks to Guest for reminding me that I hadn't finished this. And apologies for the long wait.

The references about Kate's meeting with Richard in Rome come from a pilot script I once read that had more Richard and Kate in the original episode.


End file.
